The Urdu term muhājir (Urdu: مہاجر‎) comes from the Arabic muhājir (Arabic: مهاجر‎), meaning a "migrant", and the term is associated in early Islamic history to the migration of Muslims from Makkah to Madinah. After the independence of Pakistan, a significant number of Muslims emigrated or were out-migrated from territory that became India. A large portion of these migrants came from East Karachi, and settled in Sindh Pakistan. Sharing a common culture and with tribal linkages, many assimilated within a generation. Another significant percentage are of Gujarati ethnicity.

The reasons for immigration of Urdu-speaking people to Pakistan needs to be put in context with the context of the time. For many Muhajirs, particularly the noble and aristocratic class, settling in Pakistan was strongly associated with the independence movement.

The Pakistan movement, to constitute a separate state comprising the Muslim-majority provinces, was pioneered by the Muslim elite of the region and many notables of the Aligarh Movement. It was initiated in the 19th century when Sir Syed Ahmed Khan expounded the Muslim autonomy in Aligarh. Many Muslim nobles, Nawabs (aristocrats and landed gentry) supported the idea. As the idea spread, it gained great support amongst the Muslim population and in particular the rising middle and upper classes.

The Muslims had launched the movement under the banner of the All India Muslim League and Delhi was its main centre. The headquarters of All India Muslim League (the founding party of Pakistan) was based here since its creation in 1906 in Dhaka (present day Bangladesh) and up to August 1947. The participation in the movement on ideological grounds and supporting its Muslim cause with approximately half of the entire mandate in 1945–46 elections.[3]

Maratha Empire(1674-1818) ruled large parts of India following the decline of the Mughals. The long and futile war bankrupted one of the most powerful empires in the world. Mountstart Elphinstone termed this a demoralizing period for the Mussalmans as many of them lost the will to fight against the Maratha Empire.[14][15][16] Maratha empire at its peak was stretched from Tamil Nadu (Trichinopoly) "present Tiruchirappalli" in the south to the Afghan border in the north.[17][18][19] In early 1771, Mahadji, a notable Maratha general, recaptured Delhi and installed Shah Alam II as the puppet ruler on the Mughal throne. In north India, the Marathas thus regained the territory and the prestige lost as result of the defeat at Panipath in 1761.[20] Mahadji ruled the Punjab as it used to be a Mughal territory and Sikh sardars and other Rajas of the cis-Sutlej region paid tributes to him.[21] A considerable portion of the Indian subcontinent came under the sway of the British Empire after the Third Anglo-Maratha War, which ended the Maratha Empire in 1818.

Maratha Empire at its zenith in 1760 (yellow area) stretching from the Deccan into present Pakistan. The discussed abolishing the Mughal Empire and placing Vishwasrao on the Mughal imperial throne in Delhi.

In northwest India, in the Punjab, Sikhs developed themselves into a powerful force under the authority of twelve Misls. By 1801, Ranjit Singh captured Lahore and threw off the Afghan yoke from North West India.[22] In Afghanistan Zaman Shah Durrani was defeated by powerful Barakzai chief Fateh Khan who appointed Mahmud Shah Durrani as the new ruler of Afghanistan and appointed himself as Wazir of Afghanistan.[23] Sikhs however were now superior to the Afghans and started to annex Afghan provinces. The biggest victory of the Sikh Empire over the Durrani Empire came in the Battle of Attock fought in 1813 between Sikh and Wazir of Afghanistan Fateh Khan and his younger brother Dost Mohammad Khan. The Afghans were routed by the Sikh army and the Afghans lost over 9,000 soldiers in this battle. Dost Mohammad was seriously injured whereas his brother Wazir Fateh Khan fled back to Kabul fearing that his brother was dead.[24] In 1818 they slaughtered Afghans and Muslims in trading city of Multan killing Afghan governor Nawab Muzzafar Khan and five of his sons in the Siege of Multan.[25] In 1819 the last Indian Province of Kashmir was conquered by Sikhs who registered another crushing victory over weak Afghan General Jabbar Khan.[26] The Koh-i-Noor diamond was also taken by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1814. In 1823 a Sikh Army routed Dost Mohammad Khan the Sultan of Afghanistan and his brother Azim Khan at Naushera (Near Peshawar). By 1834 the Sikh Empire extended up to the Khyber Pass. Hari Singh Nalwa the Sikh general remained the governor of Khyber Agency till his death in 1837. He consolidated Sikh hold in tribal provinces. The northernmost Indian territories of Gilgit, Baltistan and Ladakh was annexed between 1831-1840.[27]

The rich heritage brought by migrants from the urban centres of India, such as Lucknow, Delhi and Hyderabad Deccan, which had been seats of Islamic culture and learning for centuries, were to have a major influence on the cities of Pakistan, especially Karachi. The notable 20th-century Islamic scholar/author Muhammad Hamidullah, was involved in formulating the first Constitution of Pakistan.

The use of the term "Muhajir" is no longer an acceptable colloquialism in Pakistan as it once was amongst the early immigrants. They came with particular traditions and customs from the various regions. People in their 20s and 30s today prefer to be considered "just-Pakistani" and rarely are aware of their British Indian origins. There have been numerous mixed marriages and growing assimilation within Karachi's neighborhoods over the last four generations.

Upon arrival in Pakistan, the Muhajirs did not assert themselves as a separate ethnic identity but were at the forefront of trying to a construct an Islamic Pakistani identity. Muhajirs dominated the bureaucracy of the early Pakistani state, largely due to their higher levels of educational attainment. Gradually as education became more widespread, Sindhis and Pashtuns, as well as other ethnic groups, have started to take their fair share of the pool. However, the critical early years was facilitated by the experience that many Muhajir had both in politics and in higher education.

The phrase Zaban-e Urdu-e Mualla ("The language of the exalted") written in Nastaʿlīq script.

The original language of the Mughals had been Turkish. After their migration to the area, they came to adopt Persian and later Urdu. Urdu is an Indo-European language, and in the Indo-Aryan subdivision. The word Urdu is believed to be derived from the Turkish word 'Ordu', which means army (Hence Urdu is sometimes called "Lashkarī zabān", Persian for "the language of the army"). It was initially called Zaban-e-Ordu or language of the army and later just Urdu. The word 'Ordu' was later Anglicised as 'Horde'. Urdu was heavily influenced by Persian and Arabic and somewhat by Turkish; however, its grammatical structure is based on old Parakrit or Sanskrit. Urdu speakers have adopted this language as their mother tongue for several centuries.

Urdu has been the medium of the literature, history and journalism of Muslims in the area during the last 400 years. Most of the work was complemented by ancestors of native Urdu speakers in the region. The Persian language, which was the official language during and after the reign of the Mughals, was slowly starting to lose ground to Urdu during the reign of Aali Gohar Shah Alam II. Subsequently, Urdu developed rapidly as the medium of literature, history and journalism of South Asian Muslims. Most of the literary and poetic work was complemented by various historic poets of mughal and subsequent era, among which Mir Taqi Mir, Khwaja Mir Dard, Mir Amman Dehalvi, Mirza Ghalib, Bahadur Shah II Sir Syed Khan and Maulana Hali are the most notable ones. The Persian language, which had its roots during the time of Moguls, was then replaced later by Urdu. Mogul kings like Shah Jahan rendered patronage as well as support. Many poets in Pakistan such as Zafar Iqbal, Sir Mohammed Iqbal, Faiz Ahmad Faraz, Munir Niazi and Saifuddin Saif contributed their efforts for the Urdu language.

After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, when the Muslims refugees arrived in Pakistan, the values the migrants brought with them varied from region to region, depending on their origin. The Muslims refugees arrived from different regions often speaking different dialects of the Urdu language such as Awadhi, Khariboli, Braj, Bhojpuri,[38]Bundeli, Rekhta, Hyderabadi or Dakhni, etc. These Urdu dialects were distinguished by their vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation (phonology, including prosody), humor and slangs. Many Muslims refugees spoke regional languages such as Gujarati, Kutchi, Marathi, Konkani, Telugu, etc. The Urdu syllabus taught in the Karachi schools with its strong emphasis on poetry and literature helped to standardise Urdu in Karachi. These dialects and languages slowly merged to form a standard dialect closer to the Awadhi dialect of the Urdu language over the decades. Even the Urdu dialect of Karachi is very diverse, and some neighborhoods such as Nazimabad has its own accent that is different from the Orangispeech; family background, educational level and everything else has an influence.

The Urdu language spoken in Karachi has become gradually more divergent from the Indian dialects and structure of Urdu, since it has engrossed many words, proverbs and phonetics from the regional languages like Sindhi, Pashto, and Balochi. The pronunciation pattern of Urdu language also differs in Pakistan and the cadence and lilt are informal compared with corresponding Indian dialects. The Urdu speakers in Karachi consider their accent as the standard dialect of the Urdu language.

Muhajirs brought their rich poetic culture along with them which they held in their original states centuries ago prior to independence. Some of the most notable ones historic poets are Mir Taqi Mir, Mir Aman Dehalwi, Khawaja Mir Dard,Jigar Muradabad etc. Subsequent to independence, many notable Urdu poets migrated to Pakistan, besides a large number of less famous poets, authors, linguists and amateurs. Consequently, Mushaira and Bait Bazi became a part of the national culture in Pakistan. Josh Malihabadi, Jigar Moradabadi, Akhtar Sheerani, Tabish Dehlvi, Nayyer Madani and Nasir Kazmi are a few of the noteworthy poets. Later, Jon Elia, Parveen Shakir, Dilawar Figar, Iftikhar Arif, Rafi Uddin Raaz and Raees Warsi became noted for their distinction.

The Muhajir community brings a rich culture with it. Muhajirs have and continue to play an essential role in defining and enriching Pakistani culture and more significantly, music. Some famous Muhajir Pakistani musicians include: Nazia Hassan, Mehdi Hassan, Munni Begum, and Ahmed Jahanzeb. Muhajirs contribution has not been limited to pop but has spanned various music genres, from traditional Ghazal singing to rock. Muhajirs in Pakistan are also famous for their contribution towards the art of painting. Syed Sadequain Ahmed Naqvi, one of the most famous painter of the world, was a Pakistani painter who was born in Amroha, India.

After partition in 1947 by the then British Government through Indian Independence Act 1947; the Muslims who immigrated to Pakistan were well educated and consisted of journalists, urban intellectuals, professors, bureaucrats, lawyers, teachers, academics and scholers etc. Although there were those that had migrated who were the bourgeoisie consisting of merchants, industrialists or capitalists, a large number of those who immigrated from the rural areas and villages also consisted of labourers and artisans. The eminent business groups that shifted from India to Pakistan were Habib Bank, Muslim Commercial Bank, Orient Airways, among others. Other businesses were established in Pakistan by some of the notable figures as United Bank Limited, Hamdard Pakistan Limited, Schon group. It is also known that besides founding several Governmental organizations like State Bank of Pakistan, they played an influential role in initiating the Atomic Energy Commission, Kanup, and several other institutions. Muhajirs were also found in administration, establishment and politics.[39]

Muhajir are active in many sports in Pakistan. Muhajir are playing in the Pakistani cricket team with well-known players such as Javed Miandad, Saeed Anwar, Mohsin Khan, Sikhander Bakht and Moin Khan. There are now younger players like Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Khurram Manzoor playing for the international side. Muhajirs are notably involved hockey, tennis, squash and badminton. Bodybuilding and weightlifting are increasing in popularity among younger members of the Muhajir community.